The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch

The Food Truck Diaries, Volume 11: Flankenstein’s

Flankenstein’s is one of the first food trucks in town to take a stab at elevating the mobile food scene from hot-dogs-and-tacos to more like what’s going on in cities like Los Angeles and Portland. In fact, one of the owners of Flankenstein’s is a pastor who used to run a Los Angeles food truck called Seasons, which sold salads to raise money to feed the homeless.

Flankenstein’s is hard to miss, being that it is painted a shade of green that instantly burns itself into your retinas. It is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, just west of the corner of Grant Road and Alvernon Way, and can be found sporadically at events like Nam Jam and swap meets from time to time.

The barbecue sandwiches at this truck are truly something else. The brisket is cooked for 13 hours, and the thick sauce sings with tones of cherry and pineapple. It comes served on a fresh roll from La Baguette bakery, and they throw in the cheese — by request only — for free.

The price is right, too. For $5, you get a sandwich and a bag of chips. They also sell BBQ sliders for $2.50 apiece, and rib sandwiches that aren't on the menu board, but are rumored to be incredible.

Pastor Guy Stevenson and his business partner Alonso Martinez don’t plan on getting rich selling sandwiches; they have far loftier goals than that. That’s why the side of the truck says “SOS Ministries," and that’s why whatever they don’t sell each day goes to feed the homeless.

“We try to walk like Christ did, and he didn’t have a money belt,” says Stevenson. Martinez stands nearby and nods, adding that while he took a pay cut to start the business, it has changed his life and made him a far happier man than his former career in corporate America ever did.

A solar generator is being installed this week, which will make the truck’s operations almost as green as the paint job. Stevenson and Martinez are also hitting the road in August to film an upcoming television series, where they’ll travel from town to town on motorcycles, with barbecue gear in tow, feeding whoever they happen to come across.

You can keep up with the food truck on their website and Twitter over here.